


summon up your ghosts for me

by dantalixn



Category: Metal Fight Beyblade | Beyblade: Metal Fusion
Genre: Friendship, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, MFB Secret Santa 2k18
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-18
Updated: 2019-01-18
Packaged: 2019-10-12 09:37:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,203
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17465054
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dantalixn/pseuds/dantalixn
Summary: the events of the world championship still haunt chi-yun.





	summon up your ghosts for me

**summon up your ghosts for me**

 

it was quiet at the temple. chi-yun has never been one to mind the silence and with all those people living at the temple, the noises never truly stopped and only ever faded at night just like they did this time but this time, it was different. he noticed, didn't know whether his friend did as well or if it was just the overthinking he tried so hard to ignore but the overbearing silence hasn't quite gone away since they came back from europe. it left too much space for things he would love to forget about and despite his usual fondness of the lack of noise, it made him restless at night. chi-yun was aware he wouldn't feel any better if he'd just hide in room any longer like he has been doing for the last few days, knowledge gained from experience. that was how he found himself sitting on the floor right in front of their couch, mindlessly tending to lacerta.

there was a small lamp next to him on the table, low enough for him to reach. he's got his tools spread out on the wooden surface, old ones he's already possessed when he came to the temple years ago and he knew he's definitely going to need new ones some day but they have never failed him before and he doubted they'd do any time soon. the dim light was casting shadows over his lap where lacerta was currently lying while he sorted out his tools and he regretted not having done this earlier, things would have been much easier in broad daylight but he didn't need the distraction until now, training keeping him busy during the day like it always did, the circumstances didn't change anything about that and it was not like he wished they did. spending time with lacerta always calmed him down and took his mind off things, not just the training but also the most simple tinkering. her fusion wheel didn't need the extra polishing and her spin track was just fine but the wings caught dust and dirt so easily, a little bit of extra care never hurt anyone, right? he was so caught up in his work, he noticed neither the footsteps down the hall, nor the soft creak of the door.

"hey, are you still – oh, did i scare you?", da xiang asked, half concerned and half amused as he stepped into the room, closing the door again. he was wearing his pyjamas, nothing unusual considering it was already way past their usual bedtimes. even though chi-yun didn't like to admit it, da xiang did scare him a bit and he was rather embarrassed about it, there was nothing wrong with staying up late once in a while, zhou xing did it all the time da xiang never said a word about it, at least he tried to refrain from doing so. “what are you up to? on the ground, on top of that”, he added and chi-yun felt like a scolded child for a short second until da xiang broke into a soft smile, crossing the room and dropping down right next to him. he was warm against chi-yuns shoulders but he still needed some seconds to relax into the touch, tensing up at first and he hoped da xiang didn't notice. if he did, he didn't say thing about it. they haven't shared a moment like this in quite some time and da xiang stayed quiet. then, his eyes fell on lacerta. “she's alright, isn't she?”

“no lasting damages, if that's what you're referring to”, chi-yun answered, fingers closing around his bey just a little bit tighter. a familiar kind of comfort.

“that's always nice to hear”, da xiang said, getting comfortable and leaning back against the soft padding of the couch. “i saw that move mei mei tried during the training battle you had earlier with her, that was impressive. she's been working on a new special move lately, i cannot wait to see what she comes up with.”

“yeah, i guess” unable to place a finger on what exactly bothered him, he didn't feel like talking about mei mei and her new special move.

“zhou xing hasn't been slacking either” paying no mind to chi-yuns short answer, da xiang simply continued “this morning he actually came up to me and asked me about my opinion on switching virgos fusion wheel for good this time. he said he might be able to get better training results if he'd get more used to poison virgo, which is kind of hard to believe once you consider just how much he struggles when it comes to making actual decisions.”

chi-yun just nodded while the noises inside his head grew louder.

“and then mei mei suggested -”

“why don't you just _stop_?”, he suddenly burst out, eyes wide and eyebrows scrunched in confusion.

da xiang blinked. “i have no idea what you're talking about.”

“why aren't you sad?”, chi-yun asked like he didn't even hear him “since we got back from europe, you've done nothing but smile all day, acting like all of that just didn't happen, like we didn't get kicked out of the tournament we've been looking forward to for years! it was our chance to show the world how great beylin temple training is.”

“didn't we already talk about this?”, da xiang offered but chi-yun chose to ignore the hint.

“we did but it doesn't change anything about the fact that i'm the one who ruined it” it's something he's been swallowing for days, another one of the things he's been trying so hard to forget about and when he finally said it out loud, he realized just how much it hurt but it’s not like he deserved anything else, right? “we wouldn't have had to lose against excalibur if i'd have just tried harder and then you would have won against julian, there's no way he'd be able to beat you and then -” he stopped, noticing he's been raising his voice and then took in a deep breath he didn't know he was holding.

to his surprise, da xiang didn't say anything, not at first, just stared at him with an expression too hard for chi-yun to define. they sat in silence like this for a while long enough to fill his head with more thoughts he definitely did not need, forcing himself to get rid of them and get a hold of himself. seconds seemed to stretch into eternities and when da xiang finally spoke up, his voice was as calm as ever.

“mei mei and zhou xing lost as well, didn't they?”

they did, chi-yun remembered how small he's felt when cetus' wave towered in front of his teammates, how useless and insignificant when it crashed down and buried virgo and aquario beneath foam and masses of water like they never even stood a chance to begin with. he's never seen zhou xing stripped of his signature smile like that before and mei mei hasn't cried when she picked up aquario from the arena ground, even though she looked like she wanted to and then chi-yun remembered how she held his hand on their way back to the hotel. for comfort, she said, all smiles and cheerful grin. “it wasn't their fault.”

“then why should it be yours?”

taken aback by da xiang words, chi-yun raised his shoulders. “well, i-”

“it’s not your fault.”, da xiang said firmly, leaving no place for arguments. “it isn't and it will never be because this isn't about who's responsible for anything. we lost the battle against excalibur, so what? we also lost against gang gang galaxy and we tried again. we missed our change to win the world championship, what now? there's nothing we can do about it, not right now. there will be another tournament, if that's what you're so caught up about. another chance, for you, for me, for both mei mei and zhou xing” he sighed “since we're back you've been distancing yourself from the team, from us. don't believe we didn't notice because we did.”, he added and it seemed like he wanted to go but he didn't and da xiang broke their eye contact instead, running one his hands through his hair.

the words were heavy in chi-yuns throat. “i did attend training every day.”

“sure you did but then again, we missed you at dinner today.”

“i wasn't hungry.”, he said and he hated how defensive it sounded in his own ears. “i don't need anyone's permission to -”

“i know”, da xiang interrupted him and when he looked at him again, all chi-yun wanted to do was hide his face. “it’s just – we're worried about you, chi-yun. and to come back to your question, yes, i am sad. but at this point, i couldn't care less about the word championship. i am sad because i have to watch my partner and best friend suffer without being able to do a single thing about it.”

with his fingers still holding lacerta, blades pressing into his skin uncomfortably, chi-yun realized how selfish he's been, how stupid, and just how much it hurt to have da xiang look at him like that. there was a certain helplessness he didn't expect, didn't dare to think about because its da xiang, good and proud da xiang who never seemed to lose his calm mind no matter what, who always had a solution for everything and all chi-yun could do was choke out a weak “im sorry”

“there's no need to be.” da xiangs expression changed into something softer, but not any less saddening. “i know you're struggling and i know you're having a hard time coping with everything that happened but you need to stop blaming yourself.” he inched closer, slowly closing one of his hands around chi-yuns. “if you cannot do it for yourself, do it for me, alright?”

“alright”, chi-yun whispered as he leaned into the touch, his cheek pressing against the smooth cotton of da xiangs sweater. “i promise”

it’s been a while since they shared such intimacy. beylin temple sure kept them busy all day and on some of them da xiang spent whole nights cramped in his room, doing nothing but paperwork because now that he's both wang hu zhongs leader and in charge of the temple, he couldn't afford to slack. on top of that, it’s not just the two of them anymore and despite the fact chi-yun liked mei mei a lot, even zhou xing on his better days, he missed spending time alone with da xiang like that and for now, he held onto him, finding solace in his comfort and letting go of the thoughts that have been haunting him for way too long now.

he couldn't remember how long they just sat there, backs pressed against the couch, and chi-yun hasn't felt the exhaustion until how, hasn't realized how tired he was. aware of every breath da xiang took, half listening to his breathing and half curled up into him, chi-yun spoke up again. “you know” he started, slowly testing out the words “during that battle with klaus, i felt good in a way that's hard to describe, like i actually had a chance. and when i finally understood i didn't, something -” he didn't dare to look up to da xiang, just held his hand a little bit tighter “i dont know, something broke inside of me and –“

“i'm listening. i'm not going anywhere”, da xiang said, gentle and quiet.

“and then” chi-yun continued “everything seemed to change and suddenly it was like i was watching myself through a window, distant and silent, unable to interfere” remembering, he felt a shiver run down his spine “and for some reason i was okay with it, except that i wasn't because i wasn't, well, myself.”

da xiang nodded softly “sounds a lot like a bad dream to me.”

“i wish it would have been. a bad dream.” chi-yun sighed, his own breath warming his face. “deep down i was aware i was losing, it happened right before my eyes but they weren't mine and i watched myself move but it wasn't me and i – da xiang, i was so _scared_.”

“i know. but right now you're here with me, aren't you?” chi-yun hummed warily “what happened in europe is in the past. i would love to comfort you and tell you it doesn't matter anymore but it does. in fact, it's important because we learn from experience and to be honest, i have no explanation for what happened to you during the battle but that doesn't mean it wasn't real. what's more important, though, is that you're here and you're safe. and no one can take that away from you.”

the moment chi-yun heard da xiangs words, he repeated them in his head over and over again, like a mantra. he was here, with da xiang, with his friends, and he was safe. feeling both warm and content, he looked up to da xiang, their fingers still intertwined. “can we stay like this a little longer?”

da xiang smiled “for as long as you want.”

**Author's Note:**

> written for my secret santa partner alomfearum!


End file.
